Jun 11, 7:43 PM EDT


9th Circuit judge had sexual images on Web page

By GREG RISLING
Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The chief judge of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals posted sexually explicit photos and videos on a Web site he maintained that he has now blocked to the public, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday on its Web site.

The revelation about Judge Alex Kozinski came as opening statements were under way in a porn movie distributor's obscenity trial he is presiding over in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

"I have no comment on the merits of the story," Kozinski told trial attorneys, without jurors present, when they reconvened Wednesday afternoon at a 9th Circuit courthouse conference room in Pasadena where the jury was to view hours of movies depicting extreme fetishes.

"I'm very sorry I didn't know about this before the jury was sworn," the judge said.

The jury was seated on Tuesday.

The judge told the lawyers he wanted to give them "an opportunity to think about whether they wish to move to disqualify me."

Attorney Roger Jon Diamond, representing defendant Ira Isaacs, told the judge he opposes recusal.

The prosecutor, Department of Justice lawyer Kenneth Whitted, said the government was conferring internally about its options. He said he would have an answer about recusal by Thursday.

Diamond volunteered to the court that an attorney had recently called him and indicated he had a dispute with the 9th Circuit and knew about the material on the judge's Web site.

"He called me to get my view and I said, 'It's not right, don't do it,'" Diamond said without elaborating on what that attorney planned to do.

Kozinski, 57, told the Times that he thought the material on his Web site, which included a video of a man cavorting with a sexually aroused farm animal, couldn't be seen by the public. The judge, who said he didn't believe any of the images were obscene, blocked access after the interview Tuesday evening, the Times said.

"Is it prurient? I don't know what to tell you," he told the newspaper. "I think it's odd and interesting. It's part of life."

Cathy Catterson, circuit executive for the 9th Circuit, declined to comment on whether the judge would recuse himself from the obscenity trial.

"It's a private matter of the judge at this point," she said.

Catterson said the material was on a home server that was maintained "for use by his family" and that it made up only a "small percentage" of the items, which also included pictures and documents of "personal family interest."

"Most of it was jokes," Catterson said, adding that she had not personally seen the material.

"The contents are a private matter. It was not meant to be accessible by others," Catterson said. "He would have been more careful of the contents had he known what was on it."

Catterson said that after the story broke, the judge's son called Kozinski to say he had been responsible for uploading some of the material onto the computer. However, she could not say how much or what material was involved.

The Times reported that Kozinski said he must have accidentally uploaded the images to his server while trying to upload something else. He also said he would delete some material including the pictures of women as cows, which he called "degrading," the Times said.

Kozinski said he began saving the sexually explicit materials and other items of interest years ago, the Times said.

"People send me stuff like this all the time," he said.

Kozinski became the youngest federal appeals court judge in the nation when he was appointed at age 35 to the bench by former President Ronald Reagan in 1985. He is known as a strong defender of free speech and First Amendment rights.

He is currently overseeing a trial in which Isaacs, a Los Angeles businessman, is accused of breaking U.S. obscenity laws by selling pornographic movies that depict extreme fetishes. Kozinski was assigned to the case under a program in which appellate judges occasionally handle criminal trials at the district court level.

Before the site was blocked, visitors to http://alex.kozinski.com saw a message: "Ain't nothin' here. Y'all best be movin' on, compadre." Visitors who knew about a subdirectory could see the materials that also included some of Kozinski's legal writings and personal photos, the Times said.

Jean Rosenbluth, a former federal prosecutor and law professor at University of Southern California, said she had not seen the contents on Kozinski's Web site but added the judge should recuse himself to ensure there is no conflict of interest.

"He should do the right thing and step down," Rosenbluth said. "There's such an importance that the public perceive justice be fairly administered.

The trial proceeded with jurors being shown the movies, the first involving a woman engaging in bestiality. Near the end, the judge, seated among the panelists, removed his glasses, rubbed his eyes and looked away.

During a break, the judge told jurors they could walk around courthouse

"We just can't go home, right?" a male juror asked.

"No, not yet, the judge said.

Jurors will be asked to decide whether or not the films are obscene under federal law.

They must decide if the films appeal to a loathsome or degrading type of sexual intercourse and whether the sexual conduct is "patently offensive," judging by the community's standards.

Isaacs, 57, is charged with four counts, including importation or transportation of obscene material for sale. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. Prosecutors also are seeking forfeiture of assets obtained through his video sales. Two of the original six counts in his indictment were dropped.

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